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With hopes fading, Dynamo still play for pride

HOUSTON – After last weekend’s defeat to Toronto FC sunk the Dynamo deeper out of the playoff picture, head coach Dominic Kinnear painfully admitted that Houston's season was essentially over.

For Dynamo players that have made the playoffs every year since moving to Houston, that harsh reality settled in at practice earlier this week. For the first time since 2006, Houston are left to play solely for pride down the stretch, starting with Wednesday night's matchup with Kansas City at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

“We’re depressed, and we can see the writing on the wall, and it would take a complete change of events for us to get in,” Kinnear said. “We still have six games to play and we are a proud group, and we will do that with all our heart and effort.”

For Dynamo players, who last year were playing for home-field advantage and played in the Western Conference final, the drop-off in 2010 has been disappointing to say the least.

[inline_node:308886]“I am disgusted,” defender Mike Chabala said. “There are not words to describe the frustration. Five seasons here and this has never happened before. It’s hard to come in here with the talented guys we have in the locker room and see us sitting where we’re at.”

Despite their frustration at the current season, Houston players are hopeful they can put together a solid run in the team’s final six games of the season.

“We can control what happens in these next six games,” defender Bobby Boswell. “We are a team with a lot of pride, and if you watch us in practice, guys want to win. It’s unfortunate that we haven’t given ourselves a chance to make a postseason run, but we still want to win every game we’re involved in.”

Boswell disavowed the notion that the team has nothing to play for in the final six games of the season.

“If you tell us tomorrow that the game means nothing, that’s not true because it means something to us and in terms of pride as we want to win when we step on the field,” he said.

“We don’t want to let our fans down, our families, our club and ourselves. So we’re playing to get a result that is a little different than other teams still fighting for playoff spots.”

Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or Comments can be sent via email to dwaincapodice@gmail.com.